The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1887-06-03
Ladies' Department.
The Pleasant Small Feasts.

The duty Of every American cit
izen towards society is to try to
raise its tone. He should, far from
allowing his family to sink into care
less habits and an indifference to
forms and ceremonies, try to keep
them up to the standard OF proper
ELEGANCE. Even if his means are
email let the table.cloth be clean,
and the service as neat as his purse
can buy.
Let every child be taught to eat
with his fork, how to hold ms oreao
properly, how to use his napkin, to
be neat, Orderly, agreeable, and pa,
font and soon the small feasts will
be pleasant.
TO eat an egg out of the shell was
once fop's definition of good-breed-
ing. Now one can break it in cup
if he pleases, without suspicion OF
vulgarity. A person Of easy address
handles his egg as if he knew what
to do with it, and were not AFRAID OF
it. We used to hear stories OF the
American who drank the water in
his finger. bowl, and called it rather
weak lemonade, and certain pro-
lessor went to English dinner parties
and declared that he never got on
his white cravat at the right time.
These are solecisms long since mend.
ed.
Women are gifted with SO much
tact and so strong an initiative facul-
ty that they need fewer hints than
men. Yet they have still to learn
when to wear their diamonds and
when to leave them at home, when to
be fine and when to be plainly dress
ed.
As to the pleasant small feasts, the
host and hostess can sit either at the
two ends of the table or in the mid
die, or mix themselves up with their
guests, as they please. A ronnd ia
Bile, now so much the fashion, oblit-
crates any necessity for head and
foot, but the principal male guest
must sit at the hosts right hand,
whatever else happens, and the host
ess must always enter last.
Introducing guests is not lmpera.
tive, but the lady of the house should
introduce the gentleman to the lady
he is to take in to dinner.
AS soon as seated, a person should
lay his napkin across his lap; lady
remove her gloves. The roll of bread
should be taken in the left hand. II
oysters or clans are served, proceed
to eat them at once with small
fork, which should be at the right
hand of the oyster plate.
1t seems unnecessary to say that
gentleman or lady avoids hiss
ing or gobbling sound when eating
soup. A gentleman does not crum-
BILE his bread about, nor roll it into
pills, he does not tip his plate for
the last drop of soup. Yet we have
seen these defects in table manners
not hundred years ago.
Vegetables should be eaten with a
fork, and but few served at time.
Pease and asparagus are often served
as separate courses. Asparagus can
be taken by the clean white stalk,
dipped in the sauce, which should be
served separately-a spoonful on
ones plate is enough-and the veg
etable conveyed to the mouth with
the fingers. Olives and celery are
passed as radishes, and eaten with
the fingers. Radishes and green
corn are also eaten with the aid of
the fingers. Do not serve pease or
tomato in saucer: that is vulgar.
even at small feast.
Fish il to be eaten with silver fork
and bit of bread. Fruit is cut
with a silver knife, but eaten with the
fingers.
There.are minor elegancies, too,
as to the rules regarding eating and
drinking. We do not say, Il take
tea with Mrs. Smith tonight" but
81 drink tea." We do not say, 81
eat supper with Mrs. Campbell"
but take supper. Beau Brummel
once rebuked lady for saying take
tea. He said, MADAME, vulgar
man can take liberties, out one
drinks tea"
Mr.. Story was much amused, on
coming back to America. to hear a
young girl say, 81 feel like a beef.
steak" He said, Zone can feel like
a fool, but one desires beefsteak."
Again, one should never use the
term 81 love OYSTERS" love grapes"
We love our friends, we appreciate,
we like, oysters, we eat grapes. But
love is an emotion of the heart, not
a sensation of the palate.
Each Of the senses has it's appro-
pirate language. No two OF them
can be equally expressed by the
same words. We must seek propriety
of epithet as much in describing
these emotions as in addressing our
friends. We Americans are careless
as in addressing our language; we
do not study phrases as we ought.